The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares24Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.26But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” The Parable of the Tares Explained36Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”37He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43 NKJV).

Jesus gives His listeners another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like...” (verses 24-30), and later Jesus explains its meaning to His disciples (verses 36-43). We have here a story in a parable that represents the Garden, the time now, and the Revelation. This has been the continuing story since sin entered the world.

Again, parables are Jesus’ way of expressing spiritual matters in physical terms to which His listeners can relate. The kingdom exists wherever the Word is received, but we see that the multitude went away, and we may guess that few if any understood. Even the disciples, His daily companions, must ask for an explanation, for their eyes and ears seem not to see or to hear so as to give them understanding. To their credit, they have the humility to ask for the parable’s meaning while none of the crowd did so. (Do we pray for understanding when faced with mysteries of the kingdom?)

His explanation makes clear that Jesus, the Son of Man, is the one who sows. And He states clearly “the field is the world.” Some would limit the field (G68, agros, according to Strong’s Concordance: “a field…generally, the country”) to “the church,” but the multitude of doctrines today testifies to Jesus’ specific words, that the world is indeed the world, or at least that part to which the Gospel has been preached. The Greek word is Strong’s G2889, kosmos, “the world (in a wide or narrow sense…)”.

The sower is still extravagant, for we do not know the quality of the soil, but we know the quality of His seed, the truth that He scatters abroad. Yet tares also come up in the field, bad seed sown by the wicked one, identified in verse 25 as the enemy, Strong’s G2190, “an adversary (especially Satan): - enemy, foe,” This Greek word is probably equivalent to the Hebrew word for Satan, “the adversary.” In His explanation, Jesus uses the same word, enemy, and further clarifies him with Strong’s G1228, diabolos, means “false accuser, devil, slanderer.” Jesus claims the world as His field, but the devil contests the claim and plants his own seed. There are good and bad seeds intermingled. As the tender shoots emerge and mature, His servants, the angels who will reap, see the mixture of good and bad in the field of the world. They ask permission to root out the tares.

Here Jesus, the sower, is shown to be patient (long suffering) and merciful. He recognizes that the sons of the Father and the sons of the devil are there together, but He will not judge until after the harvest lest damage be done to the fruit of the good seed. The sower does not want the tares pulled while still mingled in the field with the crop, and this is for the safety and wholeness of the good seed. For if the tares were pulled from the soil, the plants of the good seed whose roots are intertwined with them might be uprooted and destroyed, as well. Note there is a word of condemnation concerning how the tares came to be in the field: “but while men slept, his enemy came and planted tares….” We might recall how Adam was told regarding the Garden of Eden, to “dress it and keep it” (or more literally, defend and protect). Yet Adam allowed the serpent to enter unchallenged, and “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan…” (Rev. 12:9) planted the seed of sin. I confess to sleeping but pray for the courage to be awake.Next article